Fire has grown to 15,000 acres, destroyed 360 homes: High winds are fueling the fire

The Black Forest Fire has destroyed 360 homes making it the worst wildfire in the Colorado history.

During a Thursday morning news briefing El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said the fire has burned 15,000 acres and 38,000 people having been evacuated. During the night the mandatory evacuation had been extended up to County Line Road.

The fire was still at zero percent containment Thursday morning and there are concerns that high winds will once again fuel the fire as it did yesterday.

“Wind is our number one threat,” Maketa said.

High winds caused the fire to double back yesterday to its original starting point which was in the vicinity of Peregrine Way and Darr Drive. Maketa said the cause of the fire still has not been determined.

A pre-evacuation notice is still in effect for those neighborhoods west of Colo. 83 from Northgate Boulevard to Colo. 105.

Maketa said that the security is high in the evacuation areas with assistance from Monument and Palmer Lake Police Departments, Colorado Springs Police Department and the National Guard.

There will be news brief at 5:00 p.m. in which Rich Harvey the incident commander for the Type I Incident Command team. Harvey was the incident commander for the Waldo Canyon Fire.